14 comments:

1. Who- Megan Reyes. I teach kindergarten, come home and chase my toddler around (while trying to also get snuggles in with my infant) then I spend the evenings writing. Or watching Doctor Who. I don’t drink coffee, I love orange chicken, and on occasion, I like to draw cartoons!

2. What & Why- I write MG&YA fantasy because that's the genre I fell in love with as a kid. Sitting on the library floor, my first chapter books were all about castles, dragons, and magic. I want to create stories that cause kids to fall in love with reading, the way I did. Plus, writing MG characters is super fun!

3. Where & When- I actually love to sit on the couch, computer on my lap, listening to Pandora. However, with the toddler running around the living room, it's not always conducive to actually getting work done. We have a nice little desk in our bedroom that never gets used… hmm **ponders writing at a desk, like a grown-up**

4. How- As mentioned in my post, I am a super planner! I use Excel sheets to lay out my plots, create character bios, and even sketch pictures of my characters before I really start writing (I know. Nerd). Also, I will think through a scene, playing it out in my head many times before I actually write it. For me, this system works well because I rarely sit and stare at the computer screen. I almost always know what I’m going to write (because I’ve already obsessed about the details!)

1. Who - Kelsey Rae Keating. I'm an Executive Assistant by day and a writer by night. I also do Shieldmaiden for hire. Not sure what that is? Check out WARRIOR OF THE AGES by S.R. Karfelt (August 2013). It'll make sense once you've fallen for her books the way I have.

2.What & Why - I write primarily YA Fantasy and NA Contemporary. YA Fantasy was what I grew up loving, and when stories started flowing from my fingertips that's how they came out. New Adult is something I've started since becoming one myself. There were a few characters who jumped to the forefront and said "Tell my story!"I couldn't tell them no :)

3. Where & When - Where varies. I write where I can when I can (not usually a strict schedule). That being said, I'm usually most creative mid morning or mid evening. I'm not a morning person and I struggle with the night owl thing, so it seems prime time is daytime.

4. How - I'm a Pantser almost always. I'll Dream Weave my stories a bit in my head before launching out to a scene sometimes, but mainly I just sit down and see where we go. I often don't know a twist or turn until it happens. That, for me, is part of the fun! A few times I have had to map out, just for the sake of keeping me sane (usually during rewrites when 1st draft fun is done).

Well, I'm Katie Cross. I'm an RN by day and night, and a writer by night and day. I do freelance workouts on the side ;)

I primarily write fantasy because it can be really fun to create your own world, and be able to do whatever you want in those world. It's actually pretty great. I grew up reading absolutely everything, so I have a particular love for the classics.

My new favorite writing spot is on my brand new iMac, because it's the size of a small football field. It's also in my kitchen, which is where all the action is, because I can't write cooped up in one room by myself. When I wrote mostly from my laptop, I did it from the kitchen counter. I write all day. I write whenever I get the chance, actually, fitting it in around being an RN, a puppy mama, and wife to a super busy soldier. I don't even have kids yet!

I'm typically a pantser, but sometimes I have to have a few scene ideas in my mind to work on ahead of time. Sometimes I can just sit and write (the pantser way!) but if I'm in a rut, I need to grab a pen and brainstorm, spilling every idea onto a piece of paper to analyze for ways to get out of my writing rut. Let's be honest. That usually involves killing someone, or making them fall in love. :)

2. What & Why? I write about relationships, mostly. Call it romance if you will, or chick lit, or women's fiction. Sometimes it comes out as sci-fi or fantasy; other times, not so much. I vastly prefer edgy over sweet, if that makes sense. I suppose it's because I find relationships interesting — how and why people connect, what pushes them together and pulls them apart, etc.

3. Where & When? Usually in the middle of the night, because I can think better when everyone else is asleep. I have a little desk in the corner of our library/living room/family space.

4. How? I'm a character planner but a plot pantser. I'll make extensive notes about my characters, even draw pictures of them, but then when I go to write I just let the story flow. If I've built the characters right, the story just falls into place.

Kella, I love your planner/pantser combo! That way you get to fall in love with your characters and really get to know them. No wonder the story falls into place--you know your characters so well, it probably seems like they are writing the story!

Kudos to you for writing horror!! I'm embarrassed to say this... but I don't think I could write horror because I would be too scared to sleep with those kind of characters living in my head! Seriously, I'm a scaredy pants. Do you ever freak yourself out with your own creepy characters? Like they're hiding in the closet? :)

1. Who- My name is Devin Berglund. I am a full-time writer, blogger, and freelancer who also enjoys traveling.

2. What & Why- I write mostly NA & YA Fantasy Adventure and Urban Fantasy. I guess I've always loved fairy tales and fantasy, because I related to them. I think C.S. Lewis' Narnia is what got me hooked on Fantasy and that love of another place.

In my writing, I want to create a place where people feel like I felt when I escaped to Narnia.

3. Where & When- My favorite writing spot would have to be... hmmm... I am not sure. I prefer writing on my Mac than my iPad. But I also enjoy being alone while writing. Being by myself where it is quiet. The most creative time of the day would have to be evening.

4. How- I write as it comes to me. I start at the beginning or in the middle or at the end, depending on the story and where it's taking me. I try to write all the way through, but that never works out the best for me. So, instead I start and then if I need to I jump to another spot and as I get to know the characters better I fill in the holes.

Thanks for this awesome opportunity! :) I enjoy your blog! Keep up the work! :)

Ooh, I love meeting other fantasy adventure writers-- we speak the same language! I can totally relate with the Narnia books. Even to this day when I see a wardrobe I want to open it... just to make sure Narnia's not waiting for me. WOW- I'm impressed you can be a pantser with fantasy! I'm a bit jealous. For me, my stories are often so plot-driven (as opposed to character-driven) so I really have to iron out the major details before I can even sit down and write.

1. Who - I'm Sara C. Snider. I'm currently a full-time writer and sometimes blogger. I live in Sweden, though I'm originally from California.

2.What & Why - I write fantasy. I love the freedom that fantasy brings. The feeling that anything can happen. I used to live in my imagination as a kid. Now, as a writer, I get to keep on doing that.

3. Where & When - Favorite writing spot is on the couch, with my computer and cat vying for space on my lap. My most creative time of day? Late morning. I usually start writing early morning, but it sometimes takes me a little while to get "warmed up".

4. How - I'm a pantser. Mostly. For the book I'm writing I had a beginning planned (which has now been mostly rewritten) and an end. The middle was almost entirely pantsed. If I get stuck, though, I'll sit and type out ideas. I have a Word file that is filled with ramblings of "so now I'm stuck..." followed by whatever pops into my head. It's fun and seems to work well for me.

Ooh, Sweden! How does that compare to Cali (I'm from Sacramento, btw)? Another pantser fantasy writer! Like I said in a previous comment... I'm a bit jealous. I also write fantasy and I'm such a nerd about planning that I spend MONTHS outlining and developing the setting before I can start writing. It might be really fun to try pants (can that be a verb? haha) a story next time, just to see how it goes.

Hey! I lived in Placerville before moving to Sweden, which is really close to Sac. (as you probably know). As for comparison, well, it's green here in the summer, and not nearly as warm. I've never really liked hot weather, so I never liked summers until I moved here. :) Lots of forests in Sweden, too, which is great, but I miss the California redwoods. Nothing like them in the world.

Maybe you could pants a short story (and yes, it's definitely a verb hehe). Small pants, so to speak, to see if you like them. :)

As for my book, it's about an orphaned servant girl that goes on a journey to learn about her parents and finds out a lot about herself along the way. Doesn't sound very fantasy-like when worded like that, but there you go. :) Hopefully it'll sound better once I write The Blurb.

1. Who - I'm K. Callard (yup, just K. You can spell it out to Kaye if it makes you feel better) and I'm a stay-at-home mom and querying writer.

2. What & Why - I write everything for kids. I'm currently querying an Upper MG Fantasy, revising two picture books and my NaNoWriMo project is a YA Contemporary. Why? Because those are the stories that came to me.

3. Where & When - I do most of my writing on the couch or in the kitchen, usually while my kids are napping or at school. Or while I'm cooking dinner. Or, really, any time I can squeeze it in. But most of my ideas come to me at night, just before bed. I've noticed a real correlation between insomnia and story ideas - I'm just not sure which causes the other.

4. How - For my novels I'm both a pantser and a planner. I tend to get an idea and plot out the major action points, then fill in the rest as I go. When I'm working on a novel I spend a lot of non-writing time daydreaming about the story, so when it's time to write I don't often just sit and stare at a blank page. The PBs tend to be more off the cuff. I get an idea and I sit and write - although I've usually spent most of the night tossing and turning and dreaming up what happens.

Thanks for hosting these fun interviews!

Oh, and I *lovelovelove* Anne of Green Gables (the books too, but especially the movie!)

1. Who - I'm Bill Wilkinson. I work as a busser in a coffee house but since it's a PT job I have plenty of time to write. I'm struggling to start my writing career over again after publishing short stories from 1989 - 1997 for 3 bi-monthly magazines that are now no longer in business. Currently working on my own blog to introduce my first novel.

2. What - I write novels of the supernatural/supernormal. Why - Being a child of the 60's I grew up on a lot of the the B-Sci/Fy and horror movies. I like to scare but to entertain the mind. Sometimes my work goes into the world of fantasy and other times into worlds unknown to us.

3. Where & When - I have this little corner in my studio apartment where I surround myself with books, DVD's and CD's. I have a Desktop where I finalize my work on Word 2003, a Chromebook that allows me to sync my works to my PC when I'm on the go and a Nexus 7 which also syncs my work when I'm on the go but don't want to carry the laptop. I write for 7 hours a day/ 5 days a week (M-F), I edit on Saturday for however long it takes and Sunday is my day of rest.

4. How - My novels come from my dreams or nightmares. I vocally record my thoughts on my tablet. In the morning, (I'm up @ 4:30am), I listen to what I recorded, go through a week of a thought process jotting down notes on a scratchpad and proceed to write the beginning of the book and usually a day or two later write the end. My novels are planned the way my father use to plan the family's summer vacation: we have Start A and end at B with the journey inbetween on how to arrive to point B. It is quite a journey and often filled with surprises or "aha" moments. I can write anywhere from 3 pages a day to 10 pages. All depends on the journey; certain roads are smooth and others are bumpy but it can be a fun ride.

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About Me

I am a homeschool mama by day, and a children's book author by night. I'm a lover of Jesus. When I'm not writing, daydreaming, or wrangling my three small children, I'm probably watching reruns of Doctor Who (I still miss the bow tie) or Parks & Recreation reruns or losing myself in a new book.